Erin Tupman (left) and Aidan Brown recently finished first in their respective categories
at The Ohio State University’s Center for Slavic and East European Studies annual
Undergraduate Olympiada, which was hosted by Kent State University last month.

Wooster Students Sweep Russian-Language Competition

Erin Tupman and Aidan Brown each place first in Undergraduate Olympiada

WOOSTER, Ohio — Two students from The College of Wooster showcased their linguistic
skills at The Ohio State University’s Center for Slavic and East European Studies
annual Undergraduate Olympiada, which was hosted by Kent State University last month.

First-year student Erin Tupman and sophomore Aidan Brown each finished first, respectively,
in the first- and second-year language competition. “The performances of Erin and
Aidan definitely testify to their hard work and their growing language skills,” said
Tatiana Filimonova, assistant professor of Russian studies at Wooster. “I hope that
their strong finishes will inspire other Wooster students to explore all of the College’s
outstanding foreign-language programs.”

For Tupman and Brown, this year’s experience was both valuable and rewarding. “Preparing
for the competition helped me to improve my language skills, and being around so many
other students and teachers of Russian was a great way to see how far we have come
and how much more there is still to learn,” said Tupman. “The competition was fun,
and it was an ideal way to practice spoken Russian and meet peers in my field.”

Brown agreed, adding, “not only was it a great chance to show off our Russian skills,
but we were also able to connect with other lovers of the language. The competition
brought together students from several schools that might not have met otherwise.
The judges and coordinators were also very welcoming and encouraging toward the students.”

After such a successful debut at the state level, Filimonova hopes to prepare a larger
group of students to compete next year and to enter into a writing competition at
the national level.